a warning tonight about a to sedate large animals. what sarasota police want people to know. good evening i'm stacie schaible. >> i'm josh benson. thanks for being with us tonight. well sarasota officials are finding a disturbing case of heroin laced with elephant tranquilizers. it's an effort to get a high, but having deadly results. news channel 8 john rogers joins us live from sarasota to tell us about this growing problem. john?

officials are desperately getting that warning out there because a lot of the users don't realize how dangerous it really is. for years, trisha bailey is trying to help her big brother, sean. but ultimately his life was his responsibility. >> it was very hard to watch him and to see him on the streets at times. >> reporter: sean was addicted to heroin. he would get clean and then relapse. >> the last time i saw him, i was angry. i never thought him. >> reporter: heroin later claimed sean's life. sadly local officials say that others are dying because of a new version of heroin laced with carfentanil used as an elephant tranquilizer. it is 10,000 times more potent than morphine. >> it is actually killing people. >> users could die with a tiny

emergency officials are taking up to four doses of narcan to bring that individual back. >> reporter: in the past week, five people overdosed, two died. officials say even paramedics need to be careful around these addicts. >> you can touch it and it could go right into your fingertips, it is that potent. >> many drug buyers don't realize that carfentanil is in their heroin. >> they are willing to play russian roulette with their lives. >> reporter: bailey doesn't want others to experience her pain. if you know someone th battling addiction, get them help now before it is too late. trisha bailey wants people to understand that the addicts are not monster. they are people that desperately need help. if you know someone that is battling this, get them help. there is a florida law in place to give you immunity for the minor drug violations by simply providing help for that person. so it is a very important warning to get out there guys. >> yeah, it is terrifying.

john rogers is live in sarasota, thanks for the update. an orange county father is mourning the death of his teenage son struck and killed by the florida turnpike. after being involved? a crash on sunday morning. he was standing outside their car on the passenger side with tonya garcia struck and killed him. according to the fhp, she the fact that their father is struggling to accept. >> and she robbed us. robbed the family. everybody in the family, they lost someone that is special and they could never be regained. >> andrum was a senior at apopka high school. a clearwater man is dead after colliding head on with

road 686 just after 9:00 this morning. a driver who avoided being a part of that accident described what happened. >> that car involved in the accident, they cut across the service lane here and they started going the wrong way down the bridge here. i swerved around him almost hitting that guardrail, he missed the next car and then as he would try to veer back into the proper lane, he got smashed with that down there. >> the driver of expedition, he died at the hospital. the other driver suffered minor injuries. thousands of floridians are still fighting with insurance companies. as our bureau reporter explains the state officials may not step in. >> if a tree falls in a storm that doesn't hit a house, who claims it? >> andou woke up. >> around 7:00 or so, came out and saw that.

joe griner. >> that is uncanny that itot caught on this oak here. >> reporter: a tree fell during hurricane hermine more than two weeks ago breaking a fence. it is now hovering over his home. >> it is kind of a weird situation as far as the insurance goes. >> reporter: the insurance company told them to call their own provider. they sent out a claims adjustor, but they are not accounting a tree. paying out of pocket won't be cheap. >> it'll be in the neighborhood of 4,000. >> are you worried house? >> yeah, a little. yeah. it has been okay for two weeks. if another hurricane came through that it would be really bad news i suppose. >> reporter: state officials could ultimately have a role in settling this. the department of human services says that they have received six relating to the storm so far. >> we'll reach out on their behalf to the insurance company. as a free service to all.

to resolve the issue. >> the complaint is still a possibility for him. >> in a perfect world, my insurance company would cover the whole thing. but that is not going to happen. >> reporter: for now he has to wait as the problem will continue to hang over his head. >> the state office of insurance regulation says that they are still just under 9,500 open insurance claims due to hermine damage. with the lack of water supplies devastating their oyster production, many believe that the future is in oyster ranching. the fantasy may soon be the largest oyster ranch in the state. more than 50 acres are devoted to growing oysters in cages. now in full production, the ranchers will be producing tens of millions of oysters a year and all on submerged land leased from the state. >> you'll get 30 times more protein off an acre of water

we've got more ranchable water in our state than the union. >> the first harvest at the co- op will begin on october 1. well paving the way for progress. coming up, major improvements are coming to downtown tampa, but not before the major lane closures. why it will help traffic in this area however. >> also ahead the voice returns tonight with miley cyrus and alicia keys. we'll preview tonight's season premier. showers and thunderstorms. but a lot of the activity has drifted well to the east. we'll show you the radar and show you if these hot, hot temps will carry on. the forecast is coming up. we'll have that and more coming up. you're watching news channel 8, the station that's always on

talking some traffic now. major improvements are underway in the southern part of downtown tampa. leslee lacey lets us know when, where, and how it will be completed. >> reporter: the initial construction phase focuses on setting the ground work between morgan and meridian. >> really what we're doing, we're partnering with th to improve the infrastructure and the overall radio network. we're going to make it safer, more efficient for the traffic. >> reporter: where i'm standing right now channel side drive heads one way. it's eastbound. but after the first phase is completed, it'll head both ways. that means that drivers will be able to head from the channel district to the amalla river with these. when should the entire project be complete? >> we're going to do it in stages, so i would say in the

dramatic transformation of this area. >> reporter: and also old water street will extend creating a new north-south connection. jefferson will become a complete two-way street. bicyclists will gain 230 feet of new pedal space. >> we're going to continue those lanes to the greenway and the city's river walk as well. so this whole area will be all connected for bike lanes. >> reporter: that includes 338 new on-street parking and 20-foot wide sidewalks. leslee lacey news channel 8. well, pinellas county may join cities like miami and jacksonville in creating a bus rapid transit or brt line. the pinellas sun coast transit authority is expected to evaluate their vehicle option for the line and in early 2017. and it is a new service for the new flier articulated bus. that there will be three potential route designations for the line that would originate in st. petersburg.

pete beach. and here is something to fetch your pooches attention. a new dog park, brand new. the northwest county dog park opened today on west water street in tampa. the county's first dog park with artificial turf and agility training equipment. it also offers one and a half acres of fenced area and pathways that include shades, shelters, even doggy drinkinfountains. the progress made in keg now starting off with the disappointing news. details now from nbc chris clackam. >> reporter: this year's child passenger safety is underway. under a cloud of confusion there's been a dramatic increase in the number of children dying in car crashes. >> data from 2015 recently released indicated that there was a 10% increase in

>> but neither nitsa or child safety experts request explain -- experts can explain why. >> it could be a host of different factors with more vehicles on the road. we don't have the data to say why. >> reporter: kate carr of safekids.org says it is especially disappointing to hear this after all the progress that has been made in child restraints. to include making it easier for parents to properly install safety seats. but it also makes this launch of the website ultimate carseatguide.org that much more important. >> it will help with buying and installing and how to ensure you have the right fit. >> reporter: with about four million babies born in the u.s. each year, it is safe to say that child passenger safety is an issue that will always be with us. chris clackam nbc news. >> an arizona mom went to the

importance of seat belt safety. she unbuckled her safety during the ride home. the mom called the scottsdale police department and they were happy to help. look at the little girl. they showed up and chatted with her about the importance of staying buckled up. >> yes, it was an extreme choice on my part to call the police, but i knew that she will remember it. >> yes and it made news. apparently the plan worked. the little girl promised that it will not happen again. and the 2016 heart walk is coming up. news channel 8 is once again committed to raising $100,000. but we need your help in order to do that. kia is matching the first $50,000 we raise. so every dollar you donate really counts as two. the walk is november 12. just go to wfla.com/heartwalk to join our team and donate. the blind auditions get

premier of nbc's the voice. as you may have seen or heard the show has some new coaches. miley cyrus and alicia keys. both women have served as advisors and mentors to the show in the past. now they are on full time and cyrus says they are hoping to bring in a new vibe to the show. >> i love the arrangement portions of it. i love taking the artist and helping them to really craft what's really going to fit them best. >> i don't care what team wins, i care ou and who deserves to win, who needs to win. and then what they will do when they win. >> they are joining the voice veterans blake shelton and adam levine. the voice premiers tonight at 8:00 followed by a special one- hour preview of the new nbc comedy "the good place." and then be sure to stick around for news channel 8 at 11:00. these late summer days could be long. we topped out at 91 degrees and

high. about the time of the year we want it to cool down, but a warm day. south sarasota county. lake club ranch got some cumulus in the distance there 87 degrees. terms of rainfall, .06. so earlier the temperature was dropped by a little shower there. this is the viewing in tampa as you can see northwest winds. veterans expressway both sides are moving along pretty good at this time. traffic might be a little heavier. 86 degrees with beautiful palm harbor and the west wind at 8 miles per hour. sunshi in terms of the shower and thunderstorm activity, most of it is obviously well to our east in this corridor. we've seen some outflow boundary, basically it has been kind of overwhelmed today with a record high today over near jacksonville as a result of the east coast sea breeze just going away thanks to the westerly flow. in other words that everything is going that way. the thunderstorms are still breaking out in spots especially out in polk county here as you can see around north of lakeland and south of i-4 here around the northern part of polk county fairly

it has shifted further east closer to auburn dale. thunderstorms have continued to develop here too at lake placid right here and right there. some thunderstorms have developed between the lake placid area and this area of highland county closer to where the collision has taken place. we saw earlier showers develop. a symbol of the westerly flow. by tomorrow we could see a few showers pop up near the coastal areas then drift kind of east as the day goes along. so the eight-day gg forecast is fairly high for the short term. long term you might see a bit of an easing with quite a bit of the dry air to the north of us. it is going to stay basically pretty oppressive here for the short term. the even forecast -- want evening forecast will continue through the east and just how most of the activity was. at 7:00 a.m., 78 degrees, coastal showers, hot and muggy in the afternoon and the hot temperatures in the upper 80s. now 90 degrees at tampa international and the dew point is 74 summertime. 87 degrees, the dew point is 74

the westerly breeze. there is the drier air aloft helping to stabilize the atmosphere here, but that's not the case further south. obviously the thunderstorms are breaking out in the afternoon heat and humidity and then most of the activity, look at the big picture well to the east. not that surprising without the east coast sea breeze making them push it further west. a new tropical depression wasn't in this earlier, but well out to sea a 35 miles per hour winds, the tropical depression 13 could become a tropical storm. the surface front to the north and generally quiet with most of the activity to the east quiet overnight. you can't rule out the slight possibility of the morning shower coming in and dying out. extra humid for us with a few coastal showers with the westerly breeze that will make it oppressive to start the day to set up the trend for the rest of the day. at lunchtime, thunderstorms are kind of like what they were now today and pushing east as the day goes along. so for tomorrow, 40% chance. showers and thunderstorms including that slight possibility of seeing an earlier shower.

day goes along. wednesday 30% chance. 20% the first day of fall aren't you excited? high temperature near 90 degrees. that drier air is settling in. i think generally central and north that we'll see the lower rain chances, the southern folks might see slightly be ther rain chances. but overall the leaves are coming down, but not in reality here guys. >> no, we're more like palms. >> yes, thank you so much. a terrifying moment in arizona all caught on camera. >> from the sky crashing into a home. how all four passengers and the pilot were able to escape before impact. and remember that you can join jenn holloway, and me on great 38 every night from 8:00

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for me, shopping is a three step process. step one: walk the aisles. two: find the deals. step three: see, that's what's great there is no step three. that's how i save at publix. how 'bout you? publix. where shopping is a pleasure. now making headlines across america. an investigator has testified that a mississippi man confessed to murdering two catholic nuns. 46-year-old rodney earl sanders admitted to killing sisters margaret held and paula meryl in their home. the alleged confession happened on the day he was arrested in a taped interview. he remains behind bars while a grand jury considers this case.

two top aides for governor chris christie are facing fraud, conspiracy, and civil rights charges. they claim that in 2013 the mayor refused to endorse christie's re-election plans. in return the aides hatched a plan to close some lanes on washington bridge. the lanes were closed for over five days creating traffic. christie has denied knowing anything about that plan. firefighters in central california are the canyon fire broke out on saturday and has grown to 4,500 acres. about 250 firefighters including the hand crews, bulldozers, firefighter aircraft are working to put out that fire. cell phone video captured the moment that a small plane fell from the sky and struck a house in arizona. you can see it here that it is the streak of light in the middle of your screen. that is the plane, plummeting

escape safely. the pilot did have some burns, but expected to be okay. no one in the home was hurt. another close call this one happening before a plane could get off the ground at denver international on sunday night. authorities say that united airline flight 296 bound for reno was taxiing when the plane's brakes failed sending the aircraft onto the grass. the pilot used an emergency reverse engine maneuver to stop the plane from going into a ditch. there were no news channel 8 at 6:00 is coming up next. >> a look at what we're working on. a new alert for drivers in the bay area that might have you checking your bank statements. coming up, we'll show you where a new credit card skimmer was found. plus, taxpayers pay a heave think price to get those pesky -- pay a hefty price to get those pesky potholes fixed. but are they really paying for what they are getting? 8 on your side of a sinkhole that dumped millions

they want their wells tested for contamination. the city of st. petersburg discharged millions of gallons of waste water into the bay. e-mails obtained by news channel 8 showed that there was a warning long before that happened. that story coming up. - marco. - polo. - marco. - polo. marco. marco? marco? but it's not a game when our senator doesn't show up. i'm patrick murphy. solving problems means showing up. showing independence. and working together.

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two major environmental concerns in the bay area tonight. >> first, they were kept in the dark about a sink hole filled with radioactive water. now neighbors are getting answers. is there drinking water contaminated? >> plus, a bomb shell in the st. petersburg sewage scandal. 8 on your side covers a potential cover up. good evening i'm stacie schaible. >> i'm keith cate. thank you for joining us tonight. new developments tonight in this breaking 8 on your side investigation.

wells belonging to dozens of mosaic neighbors. is their drinking water contaminated or not? that is the question people nearing live mosaic's plant want answered. for 19 days the state kept the public in the dark about millions of gallons of radioactive water leaking into the aquifer. that is until senior investigative reporter steve andrews broke this story last week. steve is joining us live tonight. one again in eagle 8hd above that sink all this water. so is the hole growing or not, steve? what is it looking like tonight? >> well, i'll show you in a second, keith. but according to mosaic, the sinkhole shows no signs of growing there. no indication that says that the company says that other containment pools are in danger. but let's take a look down at this here. the contaminated water continues to flow into the sinkhole.